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Lecture 4 What is goal-directed thinking?

Lecture 4 What is goal-directed thinking?. Dr. Paul Wong D.Psyc.(Clinical) E-mail: paulw@hku.hk Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP). This Lecture’s Overview. Purpose: Teach students goal setting and activity increase as means to a healthy life. Objectives:

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Lecture 4 What is goal-directed thinking?

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  1. Lecture 4 What is goal-directed thinking? Dr. Paul Wong D.Psyc.(Clinical) E-mail: paulw@hku.hk Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP)

  2. This Lecture’s Overview • Purpose: • Teach students goal setting and activity increase as means to a healthy life. • Objectives: • Students will be able to set short and long term practical and realistic goals. • Students will learn that increasing and maintaining positive activities can help create a healthy lifestyle. • Students will apply the procedures of positive goal setting to their lives. • Students will generalize or apply this lesson to real life situations.

  3. Overview • Why set goals? • Why people procrastinate? • Useful and usable goals • Getting started

  4. Why set goals?

  5. Why? One of the hallmarks of maturity is that your behaviour becomes self-directed; As children, we need guidance to know what to do and how to do it, and we are dependent on the praise and approval of others to know we have been successful; HOWEVER, when we grow up, we become increasingly self-directed and self-rewarded.

  6. Why? • If we don’t have goals, we are like: • A jellyfish • A rudderless boat

  7. Some benefits of having goals in life • Goals boost effort as you get close • Goals give direction/purpose to your life • Goals are the basis of self-discipline

  8. Why people procrastinate?

  9. Why people procrastinate? • “Not in the mood!” • The mastery model – “I am not as good as others!” • The fear of failure • Perfectionism • Lack of rewards • Passive aggressiveness – meaning “as a revenge” • Unassertiveness – meaning “occupied by things that don’t want to do” • The lack of desire

  10. Useful and usable goals

  11. Useful and usable goals • Are realistically challenging, given your abilities and life situation • Too many failures discourage, too easy won’t inspire • Express your interests • Which may change overtime • Conform with your values • So you feel ethically and morally comfortable

  12. Useful and usable goals • Are clear plans for concrete actions • Expressed as behaviours you intend to do • Have verifiable outcomes • Can be achieved reasonable soon • Or be approached by sub-goals • Depend mostly on your own efforts • Are ones you were involved in setting

  13. Writing goals

  14. Writing goals • Usually begin with wishes or good intentions • E.g., I wish I can finish the marathon • E.g., I ought to do something to improve my GPA • Identify the verifiable outcome • How will I know when I have achieved this goal? • E.g., I will finish the marathon within a certain time period, i.e., 1 hr 10 mins • E.g., I will see my GPA improve for a certain point, i.e., from 2.9 to 3.0

  15. Writing goals • Specify what you will do to achieve the outcome • E.g., I will do three training sessions per week at the gym • E.g., I will spend at least an extra 1.5 hours per day revisiting things that I have learned in today classes • Do a check: realistically challenging? Interesting? Comfortable?

  16. Getting Started

  17. Getting started • For each significant life area, first identify a wish • Then write a useful and useable goal • You decide what areas are important in your life • Career? • Marriage/family? • Friends? • Education? • Recreation? • Health?

  18. Getting balanced • How is your time currently distributed? • Are some goals getting too much or too little of your time? • If they are, how exactly will you change that?

  19. Getting Started – the Steps

  20. Choose the possible life areas • Specify the wants • Set useful and usable goals • Plan for implementation • Do a realistic and comfortable check, e.g., time and resources • Optional – contracting with yourself • Implement and evaluate

  21. An example of a contract To achieve my goal of improving my GPA by the end of this year, I plan to attend a “super memory course” provided by …. Each week that I go to classes and complete any reading or assignments set that week, I will reward myself by going to the club with my friends on Friday night. I realize that this contract is an aid to my motivation, to help me achieve a goal I want but expect to find difficult so, if I cheat on this contract, I only cheat myself. Date……. Signed ……………………………. (A supportive friend can witness your contract, if you want, and be the person you report your progress to)

  22. Now your turn! • What to do in the tutorial: • Find a partner • In your own words, explain to him/her why we need to set goals • In your own words, explain to him/her why some people procrastinate • Show the other person how to use the “goal-setting exercise” form • Discuss with the partner your comments about this goal-setting exercise. • If you have time, document it.

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